Every year, Esquire Philippines’ Man at His Best (MAHB) honors extraordinary Filipinos who are reshaping society. These are the men and women who are raising the bar for Filipino creatives, athletes, public servants, and professionals.
This year, we’re celebrating eight modern-day heroes and icons in film, music, sports, business, politics, and journalism. From music legends Eraserheads to award-winning journalist Atom Araullo, we present the 2022 awardees who exemplify what it means to be a Man at His Best.
Meet Esquire’s Journalist of the Year, Atom Araullo.
Atom Araullo is a hard man to pin down. The broadcast journalist, who is all kinds of busy anchoring a daily news program and producing regular episodes of his newsmagazine show and documentary program, finally had a few hours to spare for a sit-down with Esquire Philippines.
Of course, this isn’t our first sit-down with him. In March 2016, Araullo, who was then a beat reporter for ABS-CBN, graced the cover of what was then the print issue of this title, and he talked about, among other things, the social issues he was most concerned about (climate change is right up there), a place he wouldn’t mind visiting (Cuba), and the one person (among many) he admires most (scientist and virologist Jonas Salk, who developed the polio vaccine).
On his idea of a perfect day:
Waking up early. Not too early, just enough to kind of see the sun rising. Have that soft light in your room. Prepare a cup of coffee. Have a bit of quiet time to think. Go out for a walk, if not jog, get some exercise early in the morning. Have some coffee again. (Laughs). Find a quiet place to read a book. And then maybe a nice dinner with friends. If there’s time, maybe Netflix, or any nice movie to watch.
But a lot can happen in six years. And a lot has, especially to Araullo. He’s since left ABS-CBN and moved to his current home network of GMA; he’s anchored the network’s most high-profile newscast 24 Oras in broadcast legend Mike Enriquez’s absence, especially during the first few months of the pandemic; he’s hosted his own TV programs and won awards for his work, particularly for The Atom Araullo specials; he’s now a Palanca Award-winner for the Essay Category, for a piece he wrote about a visit to Tawi-Tawi; and, he’s become a film actor, too, after starring in Mike De Leon’s critically acclaimed Citizen Jake in 2018.
But some things remain the same for the media personality, who turned 40 this year. He’s still applying the scientific method in his stories; he’s still socially aware and picks his stories largely based on what’s affecting the most people; and he still has itchy feet and a wandering spirit raring to go off on the next adventure on a different spot on the map.
On his bucket list destinations:
Where to begin? I’d like to go everywhere. I want to go to Patagonia, that’s a dream. I want to explore Africa. It’s a huge continent and I’ve only been to a few countries there. I can say Tanzania, habang adventurous pa ko. Places like Somalia, the horn of Africa. I can go on and on. I’d love to go the Falklands. Antarctica, while it’s still there. Kung anuman ang hindi ko pa napupuntahan. Hinuhuli ko na yung mga countries na kahit matanda na ko, kaya ko naman. Yung medyo kumportable.
“It was depressingly uneventful,” he says in jest, about hitting the big 4-0. “To an extent, age is really just a mindsent. Ayoko naman sabihin na, hindi naman construct yung age, because it is an actual thing. Pero, wala namang barriers. Siguro sasakit tuhod mo ng konti, sakit ng likod mo. Pag magbubuhat ka ng tubig, you have to be extra careful. If you take care of yourself, your physical health, emotional health, you can do so much. And I’m happy to be at this age. I’m more comfortable.”
To his fans and followers, which is pretty sizeable judging by his social media accounts, Araullo’s story is well-known. Born to progressive parents who famously fought the dictatorship during Martial Law, he was a member of the Ateneo De Manila Children’s Theater before he was “discovered” and became a reporter and host for the children’s program 5&Up, which was produced by Probe Productions. He then went to the Philippine Science High School before pursuing a degree in Applied Physics at the University of the Philippines Diliman.
“I’ve always been fascinated with science,” he says. “I think, honestly, it’s a natural instinct, especially for kids, to want to learn about the world. And unfortunately, that kind of spirit gets dampened a little bit as we grow up, for whatever reason.
“When I was younger, I would go to our backyard and I would look at the bushes, overturn big stones in the garden and see the beetle larvae under those rocks,” he adds. “Things like that. My first passion was the natural world.”
On the one movie he can watch over and over again:
(Takes a long time to answer). A lot of the movies I really like, it affects me emotionally, I don’t want to necessarily watch it again and again. I have to be in the mood for it. Ah, I have an answer. If it’s a movie I wouldn't mind watching again and again: The Lord of the Rings trilogy. That’s a good choice anytime.
There was no aha! moment that led Araullo from a career as a researcher and scientist to one in media. Besides his previous experience with 5&Up, which he says made him understand the importance of television and fact-based content, it was during his days as a student in university when he became more conscious of social issues and the place of journalism in society. It opened his eyes to the possibilities of the medium and what he could do in the space.
